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Pictured are the first people in line on the EVEN side entrance to the Cassell for the ole miss game. These students were there since a little after noon on Wednesday, waiting five hours just to get in.

I can’t say enough about how incredible it was the way our student body supported the Hokies in the NIT. That’s what it is all about. That’s what helps build your program. duke is known as much for the cameron crazies (NERDS) as they are for coach k and the players they have had. No recruit wants to go to a school that is half full for most games and half full arenas hardly inspire a team. Well, the fans certainly had the Hokies amped up for each NIT game, that was obvious.

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Zach “Barefight” and crew once again were first in line at the tennis court side entrance to Cassell, arriving around 2 PM Wednesday to give the rebels hell.

The three games drew 29,000 fans exactly, just 541 under the maximum capacity for three games. That’s 98% full over the three games and that is 98% awesome. But it was the students that led the charge. For each of the three games, they accounted for approximately 60-70% of the crowd. Normally they get only 3,000 tickets, and did get 3,000 free tickets to each game. But the students doubled that number for each game, coughing up the $5 to see Tech play. Hats off to you, students. Without you, the Cassell would have been half full, and the team might have played half as hard. Instead, we got maximum effort and two blow out victories before falling to a more veteran and physically superior team.

Thank you, students. We need to figure out how to get more of you into games next year when alumni and fans eat their tickets, leaving the Cassell 25-40% empty.

Notes:

• Thanks, Zach, for hooking DuffHokie and me up with money seats at the ole miss game. Good to see running this site is finally paying off somehow!
• Charlie – nice meeting you. Keep up the support.
• To the guy that designed the Hokies on Fire shirts – congrats to you on designing such a big hit. Just make sure next year’s designer comes up with something original… just teasing you. The shirts were sweet, I just hate those heartbreaking wake forest types (long story).
• Props to the students that spelled out VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE & STATE UNIVERSITY on their chests. Very creative, took a lot of coordination, meant they had to give up better seats to get everyone in a line, and was just plain sweet.

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I got a real treat on Wednesday, getting to meet David Jackson. He played at VT while I was there and was a member of the 1995 NIT Champion Hokie team. David later went on to play Slamball on Spike, a game that combined basketball with a car wreck.
I told him the story of how a former professor of mine loved him and used to ask each class how many times he fell on the floor (he was the Big Flopper before Deron Washington patented it). I always knew and ended up getting a 108% in the class with all my extra credit.
DJ now helps out with the team as a trainer.

Now, for uva. They drew just 16,334 fans for their three home games in the CBI. That’s just under 5,500 per and about 4,000 less than VT. Also, the Roanoke Times states that uva only drew 150 students for their first CBI game. 150! Ha! Yes, I realize the CBI is a new tournament with no TV coverage, but still. That’s a big discrepancy. Thank goodness we’re Hokies.